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Egypt punished over violence

PARIS, May 19 – African champions Egypt will have to play their first two home 2014 World Cup qualifiers at least 100 kilometres from Cairo, FIFA's disciplinary committee ruled on Tuesday.They imposed the punishment along with a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (71,000 euros) for the violence before Egypt’s World Cup qualifier with Algeria in Cairo last November which saw three Algerian players and the team’s goalkeeping coach sustain injuries when their bus was attacked by Egyptian fans.

"The Disciplinary Commission decided to impose a ban on the Egyptian Football Federation to host their first two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches at least a 100 kilometres from Cairo," read the FIFA statement.

"The Egyptian Federation did not take all the necessary security measures to assure the safety of the Algerian delegation inside and outside the stadium."

Egypt won the match, leading to a tie in their group and a play-off in Sudan that Algeria won 1-0 to secure a berth in the World Cup finals.

The incidents and subsequent row over the play-off triggered a diplomatic spat between the two countries at the time.